A lower food bill in the summer?

One of the first things that was on my mind with the end of the school year was feeding the kids and not wanting to spend a fortune. I was really afraid of what I might encounter. Strangely, it has been costing me LESS with the kids being out of school. I didn't think it was possible but I figured out why... When school is in session I always have to be sure that the kids have a variety of quick options for breakfast since we leave the house at 7. This means no time for home-cooked big breakfasts. I buy things like bagels, cinnamon toast, granola bars etc... Both girls took lunch from home as well as extra snacks. I am one of those moms who goes above and beyond to make sure they have quality things to eat. This is where it costs me a whole lot. Yes, school lunch would be cheaper but my kids don't eat it plus I don't want them to. There would also be the numerous times that they stayed after school for sports, activities and projects so I always made sure they had extra snacks and drinks.

Being home makes it so much easier. I can cook a good breakfast and even make ahead items like pancakes, waffles and bacon. Lucky for me my kids can eat just about anything so they tend to have whatever was leftover from last night's dinner for lunch. They drink water ALL day long (not that they don't ever drink anything else).

I think I am spending about $30-$50 less per week in food. Not bad huh? I really did not think it was possible! Perhaps since they are so busy they are not thinking about eating as much.

Has you food budget changed with school being out?

Milo's Kitchen™ home-style dog treats Review & Giveaway

**Contest Closed**
Winner is #66 Saira H~ Congratulations!

When my family saw the commercial for Del Monte Foods new product called Milo's Kitchen home-style dog treats we knew we had to get some. After all, our family dog's name is Milo! Milo's Kitchen dog treats are 100% real jerky, sausage slices, and meatballs. They have no artificial flavors or colors and are made with real meat or chicken. They look like they were homemade. I tore off a small piece of the Chicken Jerky for Milo to try, and out of habit I sniffed it. I could not believe how much it smelled like jerky that humans would eat. Milo gently grabbed it from me and stood over in the corner. I'm not kidding you he sat there for about 2 minutes and he was drooling until he couldn't take it anymore. He devoured it! Needless to say he was lingering around the snack cabinet for much of the day.
Milo's Kitchen home-style dog treats come in 4 delicious flavors: Beef Jerky, Chicken Jerky, Beef Sausage Slices with Rice, and Chicken Meatballs. I can't wait to share these tasty treats with the neighbors' dogs. I love the fact that these treats are made with real ingredients since our pet's health is very important to us.

Speaking of health, Milk-Bone has come out with new, all natural Healthy Favorites Granola Biscuits. They are made with real chicken, sweet potatoes, rolled oats and flaxseed. They contain no corn, soy, fillers or artificial preservatives. Milk-Bone also makes Mini's treats that have only 5 calories per treat. These mini dog treats provide 12 Vitamins and Minerals and over 200 treats come in a box. This is a great option for pet parents that are afraid of over-treating their furry family member. We have always loved Milk-Bone. They are a household brand and have been around since 1908!












Giveaway:
One lucky Momfiles reader will win the prize pack pictured below including all 4 flavors of Milo's Kitchen home-style treats as well as the 2 new Milk-Bone snacks.

To enter: *Mandatory: Please tell us which variety of dog treats you think your furry family member will love the most. What kinds of treat do you currently give your dog?

For additional entries:
~ "like" Milk-Bone, Momfiles & Milo's Kitchen (there is a "like" button on the top right side of the page) on Facebook (leave the name you are 'liking' from)
~ Share this giveaway on Facebook and leave a link
~ Follow Momfiles on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway (once a day, leave the link to your Tweet):

Enter to win a Milo's Kitchen & Milk-Bone prize pack for your #dog from @momfiles http://tinyurl.com/3s6b3qh #giveaway

~ Follow Momfiles via GFC or grab my button (let me know if you already do)

This giveaway is open to US Residents only and will end at 9:00 PM EST on June 30,2011. Please be sure to leave your email address in your comment if you do not have a Blogger Profile. One winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email to claim prize. Good luck!

I received products samples to review and all opinions are 100% mine always.

Wordless Wednesday

He still LOVES Carmex

I will start off by saying that this photo was in no way set-up nor was the row of Carmex arranged by no one other them William himself. I can't believe he had 5 of them at one time and was so proud spread them out and count them. William wakes up some mornings and the first thing that comes out of his mouth is "Where is my Carmex cherry?". He knows his little hiding places and will search high and low to find them! Wow, I am thinking intervention here! My boy is too funny :)

Why I love Swagbucks

Are you familiar with Swagbucks? I joined over a year ago and quite honestly I did not use it much the first few months. It took me seeing everyone talking about it to make me motivated to see what all the hype was about. I made Swagbucks my default search engine and downloaded the toolbar. I think the toolbar is what sold me. I have the kids and husband using it for searches and I am so proud of how much I have accumulated so far in Swagbucks.



I have this thing with how I cash them in. A lot of people let them accumulate in the thousands and even the tens of thousands. Not me, I'm so paranoid that the site could crash and disappear so as soon as I reach 450 SB's I cash them in for a $5 Amazon gift certificate. I have been accumulating about 500 SB's a week recently. I have made it to $60 (Amazon) so far and I was able to pay for all the girls' summer reading books at no cost to me. If you are not a part of the Swagbuck Nation I recommend you jump on it! You can apply here. It costs you nothing and you can accumulate FREE things just for doing a search!